Muddy building traditions

Earthen building traditions from the past towards a viable future. Natural building techniques from around the world in photos and text. Play in the mud and have fun building with natural materials and your best tool:
your own body!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Thursday, September 20, 2007

For those who have met or heard about Herman my accomplished accomplice, a long awaited update. After travel to the U.S.A. carefully dried and packed in plastic he was rejuvenated with some crystal clear water and fed some freshly ground flour. After a lot of attention and feedings he began to bubble and grow. Herman was hungry and ready to put out after 10 days of rejuvenation. In his own 2 quart mason jar he accompanied me to Pendelton Oregon where we cooperated in making pizza and desem bread. He wasn't quite his old self but well on his way. The bread was edible and the pizza tasted quite nice. After a week we headed to Newport on the coast and stayed with my parents for a week. There Herman performed, wholewheat desem bread fresh from the oven it sure didn't last long. We were baking every other day or so for a week. Gathered all the tools. a tent and a mighty Coleman cooler filled with the surplus from the pantry. We wouldn't go hungry! Off to Coquille and the North American School of Natural Building for eight weeks plus. Herman was introduced to the folks already there and we tested out the failing cob oven to see if we could bake bread in it. Sure enough it held the heat okay and we proceeded to make a monster load of 25 pounds of wholewheat dezem dough. Two 5 gallon buckets served as our mixing bowls. The next morning at 04:30 am we fired the oven and formed the loaves 16 big loaves that with a we bit of cramming where baked in two batches. Fresh bread at breakfast! It was quite fun to see how folks react to fresh bread especially Hermanator Desem bread. I thought it would last the week. Major miscalculation! It was gone in two days. I was rather shocked and devised a plan to put the bread I baked on rations. Which worked quite well bread almost everyday with a few exceptions. Herman survived the return trip to Holland in his liquid state tucked in my bagage double bagged in his mason jar.
The day after arriving home we made bread on home ground and were both happy to be back home after such a long absence. Herman is waiting for me right now to get in the kitchen and feed him and make dough!

Monday, September 3, 2007

The Piazza di Farfalla at the Butterfly House in Ouwerkerk, Zeeland is now finished and the first Pizzas and bread was delicious! My thanks to all the workshop participants and the plaster crew that came back and transformed the cocoon into a beautiful Farfalla! We danced in the mud, laughed and enjoyed the hospitality of Saskia and Jasper and Ijfke. The weather was on our side and we enjoyed the sun the mud and oneanothers

company while we created a place of warmth, a rumford fireplace an earthen oven and a bench connecting the two hearths. This all happpend under a roof that Rob an Jasper built and that will turn into a green roof before the winter. I will cherish the laughter, the learning and the new muddy friends!

Saturday, August 18, 2007

After two months in Cobville of intense learning, building and living with a great group of fellow apprentices, teachers, mountain homeys and passres through, the reality of another world has hit me. I'm home in Holland, with electronic post, mobile phones bills and other things I didn't miss in Cobville. Keeping my perspective on how I want to live is at times mind boggling. I hope to post my agenda soon for the coming building season. I'm working on a European Natural building Colloquiom in 2009 with a theme of Bringing rituals back into contemporary buildings. I hope to invite Vernacular builders from Africa to share their experience with us and to propagate an international building network of with vernacular traditions and rituals. Any help along the way is welcome. I hope that the 2007 apprentices, Ianto, Linda , Paul all the guest teachers and Mountain Homeys are in good health and high spirits. I want to thank you all for your wisdom, inspiration and love. Hope to see you in the near future!
Peace and Blessings,
Christo
p.s. Herman is alive and kicking happy to be home and putting out what it takes to make good bread!

The real dirt on the earth

Welcome to the muddy reality of earthen building traditions. Where dirty hands are a blessing and muddy feet a must! I invite you to get in the mud and dance yourself an earthen fireplace, oven or your own happy home! The avenues of mud and it's quailities bring out the best in all of us so start creating your own muddy revolution now!

Recommended reading

Architecture for the Poor by Hassan Fathy

Dirt the Ecstatic Skin of the Earth by William Bryant Logan

Create an Oasis with Greywater Art Ludwig

The Natural Plaster book Chiras and Geulberth

Spectacular Vernacular: The Adobe Tradition Bourgeois and Pelos

Build your own Earth Oven Kiko Denzer

Dig your hands in the dirt Kiko Denzer

The Hand Sculpted House by Evans,Smiley and Smith

The Humanure Handbook by Joseph Jenkins

The secret life of trees by Colin Trudge

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About Me

Loves to dance in the mud, build with natural materials with hands and feet and a bare necessity on hand tools. wood fired food, Sourdough bread made from our family pet starter "Herman" wake me up for some good honey and bread, falling stars, sunrise, and fresh figs from the tree!